Broken Promises and Failing Livers
by bkwerm22
Summary: After two miscarriages, Kevin and Scotty try and move on.  However, Kevin is unable to and starts drinking.
1. Chapter 1

Lately, Kevin hadn't felt very hungry and therefore wouldn't eat. As a result, he began to lose weight. Then he began experiencing nausea and fatigue. Kevin wrote it off as the flu and figured he'd feel better in no time.

One morning, Scotty was cooking breakfast, hoping that Kevin was feeling well enough to eat something. Usually, Kevin was up by 9 but this morning was different. Scotty initially figured it was just the flu and continued to cook breakfast. It was 10:30 when Scotty finished the eggs and decided it was time to go wake Kevin up.

"Kevin, it's time to get up," Scotty said upon entering the bedroom. Kevin moaned but didn't respond. So Scotty went over to the bed and sat down next to Kevin. It was then that Scotty noticed Kevin's color was off and he was soaked in sweat. Concerned, Scotty placed a hand on Kevin's forehead and quickly pulled his hand away in shock. "Kevin? Kevin, please wake up." Kevin slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly at his husband.

"Morning," Kevin said hoarsely.

"Kevin, I need you to sit up for me. You're burning up and I want to take your temperature," Scotty replied.

"Okay," Kevin replied before slowly sitting up. As soon as he did, Kevin shuddered. "I'm cold."

"Well that's because you have a fever. Hold on a minute while I get the thermometer." Scotty then went into the bathroom and returned moment later. "Open up," he ordered. Kevin complied. A minute later, the thermometer beeped and Scotty removed it.

"Well, what's the diagnosis?" Kevin asked.

"Oh my God, Kevin! You have a temperature of 103!" Scotty exclaimed with alarm. "We need to get you to the hospital!"

"Scotty, I'm fine," Kevin protested.

"No, Kevin, you aren't fine. A 103-degree temperature is dangerous! Come on now!"

"Scotty, I can't go to the hospital like this! I'm all sweaty!"

"Jeeze, Kevin! Okay, get in the shower quickly and then we are going."

Kevin got out of the shower 15 minutes, feeling nauseous. He then proceeded to throw up in the toilet. Scotty heard the retching and hurried into the bathroom. He found Kevin sitting on the floor, leaning on the bathtub, with his eyes closed. "Kevin?"

Kevin opened one eye. "Mm fine," he mumbled. Scotty walked over to Kevin and knelt down beside his husband. He just happened to look over to the toilet and gasped in alarm. The water was bloody. "Oh, God, no Kevin! You're not fine! Come on, we need to get you to the hospital!" Scotty then helped Kevin to his feet. They walked a couple inches before Kevin collapsed. "Kevin!" Scotty yelped, catching Kevin as he fell. Scotty gently laid Kevin on his side and then ran for the phone. He quickly dialed 9-1-1 and tapped his foot impatiently while waiting for an answer. Finally, somebody picked up.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" a nasally voice said.

"Hi, my husband just passed out! I need an ambulance!" Scotty said frantically.

"Okay, calm down Mr…?" the dispatcher said.

"Wandell. Please, hurry!"

"Okay Mr. Wandell, I need you to tell me your location." Scotty proceeded to give the dispatcher his address. "All right, Mr. Wandell, I will have somebody at your home as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Scotty replied, before hanging up the phone. Then he went into the bathroom and knelt down on the floor by his unconscious husband. Scotty sighed with relief when he saw that Kevin's chest was still moving. "Hang on, Kevin. An ambulance is coming," Scotty whispered.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Scotty hurried to answer. "He's in the bathroom!" he cried as soon as he saw the paramedics.

"Okay, Mr. Wandell, lead the way," one of the paramedics said. Scotty nodded and hurried to the bathroom. The paramedics began wheeling the gurney after Scotty and once they reached the bathroom, both men went into action. They lifted the stretcher off and set in on the floor by Kevin. Then Kevin was gently rolled onto the stretcher. "Okay, Bill, on the count of three," one of the men said. He counted to three and then they lifted Kevin off the ground and placed the stretcher back on the gurney. Then the men began wheeling Kevin out of the bathroom with Scotty trailing behind. "All right, Mr. Wandell. My name is Ryan. Can you tell me what happened?" Scotty nodded.

"Lately, my husband hasn't been eating much and this morning, he was covered in sweat and had a fever of 103. We were going to come into the hospital but Kevin insisted on a shower first. After he was finished, I heard him retching so I went into the bathroom and found him sitting up against the tub. He had thrown up…and there was blood…God, is he going to be okay?" Scotty asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wandell. We are going to get your husband to the hospital as soon as we can." Scotty just nodded.

Finally, the paramedics and Scotty made it to the ambulance. As the paramedics lifted Kevin into the ambulance, he woke up. "Scotty?" Kevin said with panic in his voice. "What's going on?" Scotty stood outside the ambulance and smiled weakly.

"Kevin, you passed out in the bathroom. I had to call 9-1-1," Scotty explained.

"Mr. Wandell?" Ryan interrupted. "We are ready to go. If you would like to, please climb on up."

"Yes, thank you!" Scotty scrambled into the ambulance and sat down. He took Kevin's hand in his and squeezed gently. Once they were settled, Ryan began checking Kevin out while Bill began to drive to the hospital.

Scotty stood in the waiting room, pacing, when the doctor arrived. "Are you Mr. Walker's husband?" he said.

"Yes. Scotty Wandell, " Scoty replied.

"I'm Dr. Vincent. I will be your husband's doctor."

"How is he?" Scotty asked.

"Mr. Wandell, we ran some tests on your husband and I'm afraid it isn't good news," Dr. Vincent said.

"What? What is it?" Scotty said as his stomach flipped.

"It seems that Mr. Walker's liver is failing…" Scotty put a hand to his chest and sat down.

"H-how? Does it have anything to do with his donating part of his liver to his biological daughter?" Scotty asked, his voice trembling.

"No…people who donate part of their liver usually regenerate it in a couple weeks…Mr. Wandell, I believe that it's caused from alcohol abuse."

"A-al-alcohol a-abuse?" Scotty stuttered. "But wouldn't I have b-been able to tell? I mean…" Scotty didn't believe this was happening. Kevin's liver was failing from alcohol abuse? Suddenly, Scotty remembered something that had happened about two months ago…

_It had been a week since Michelle's miscarriage and Kevin and Scotty were feeling down. Kevin, however, had been hit the most. He had wanted a child so bad and now they had no child and no money. _

_That night, Scotty was reading a book when Kevin stumbled in. "Kevin? Are you okay?" Scotty asked, concerned._

"_Mm fine," Kevin slurred. Clearly he wasn't fine, however, as he tripped and fell. Scotty stood up from the couch, alarmed. He ran over to Kevin's side and helped him sit up. _

"_Are you drunk?" Scotty asked._

"_Yess." _

"_Jeeze, Kevin, how much have you had to drink?" _

"_I dunno…a lot." Kevin looked up at Scotty with tears in his eyes. "I jussst needed the pain to sstop. Jus' for a little bit." _

"_Oh, Kevin…drinking your problems away isn't going to solve anything!" Scotty replied._

"_I jus'…" Kevin didn't finish his sentence and instead broke out into sobs. Scotty frowned and pulled his husband into his arms. _

"_Shh, shh. It's okay, Kevin. Let it out," Scotty said, as he rocked Kevin. Kevin clung to him for about ten minutes before the sobs subsided. Then Scotty pulled away. "Why don't you have some water and go to bed?" Kevin just nodded and tried to stand up. As he did so, Kevin groaned and sat back down. _

"_Ssso dizzy," he said. _

"_Okay, c'mon. I'll help you," Scotty replied, chuckling a bit. "That's what you get for getting drunk, baby." The couple made their way to the bedroom, Scotty supporting Kevin up. When they reached the bed, Kevin collapsed onto it. Scotty smiled and began to remove Kevin's shoes and pants. "How about we get you sitting up so I can take off your shirt, hmm?" Scotty suggested. Kevin groaned in response but allowed Scotty to help him. As Scotty began unbuttoning Kevin's shirt, he looked his husband in the eyes. "Okay Kevin, no more drinking like this. Promise?" _

"_Mmk, Scotty," Kevin replied, before falling back on the bed. As soon as Kevin began to snore, Scotty covered him up with a blanket. Then he quietly left the room. _"I have to make sure Kevin promises me that he won't do this again tomorrow…" _Scotty said to himself, after realizing that Kevin was so drunk that he probably wouldn't remember making such a promise. _

"Mr. Wandell? " Dr. Vincent said, bringing Scotty out of his flashback. "Are you okay?" Scotty nodded.

"A couple months ago, Kevin and I were trying for a baby. Our surrogate miscarried twice, however, and we lost our baby as well as a ton of money. Kevin came home one night drunk…really drunk. He said it was to make the pain go away for a little. The next morning, I made him promise never to drink like that again. I haven't seen him drunk since…but maybe that's because…I dunno."

"Well, Mr. Wandell…people who are drinking to get rid of pain usually can hide their drinking from loved ones very well. It's possible Mr. Walker wasn't drinking enough for you to be able to tell he was drinking. Nevertheless, his liver is failing and we need to get him on the transplant list as soon as possible," Dr. Vincent explained.

"Couldn't you just d-do the same thing you d-did for Kevin's n-niece?" Scotty asked.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Wandell…the damage is too great for a live liver transplant. He needs a new liver entirely."

"O-k-kay…d-do what you have to d-do," Scotty stuttered.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wandell…your husband's condition makes him eligible to be placed high on the list. He's stable for now and will be fine for another day before his liver begins shut down. He might even have a new liver in 48 hours. Would you like to see him?" Dr. Vincent replied.

"Yes…but I n-need to make a phone call first," Scotty said. The doctor nodded and turned to leave. Meanwhile, Scotty pulled out his cell and called Nora.

Nora was washing the dishes when the phone rang. She dried her hands, picked up the phone and smiled. It was Scotty. "Scotty! What a pleasant surp…What?" She paused as Scotty spoke. "Is he all right?" Another pause. "I will be right there!"

Scotty reached Nora after two rings. She began greeting him but Scotty interrupted her. "Nora," he choked out. "It's K-Kevin…he's in the hospital." He paused as Nora spoke. "N-no…he's n-not. I don't wanna d-do this over the phone." Another pause. "Thanks…see you soon." Scotty hung up the phone and then went to find Kevin.

When he reached Kevin's room, Scotty paused at the doorway and took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. Kevin looked up when he heard the door opening. "Hey you," he rasped.

"Hey yourself…how are you feeling?" Scotty asked.

"Terrible. You?"

"Kevin…how long?" Scotty asked. Kevin looked down in shame.

"About two days after you made me promise I would stop," he replied.

"Why? Kevin? Why? I mean…God! Kevin, your liver is failing!" Scotty said hysterically. "You could die!" Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes. Kevin held out his hand to Scotty.

"Come here," he whispered. Scotty walked over and took Kevin's hand. He sat down in the chair by Kevin's bed and kissed his hand.

"I'm scared, for you! God, it's like déjà vu right now…" Scotty whimpered. He placed his forehead on the bed and let out a shuddering sigh. Kevin gently reached over with his free hand and stroked Scotty's hair.

"I know…but it's going to be okay," Kevin replied.

"You c-can't know that," Scotty said without lifting his head.

"Let's not talk about it right now, okay? I'm not going anywhere." Just then, the door opened and Dr. Vincent and a nurse walked in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but nurse Kelly here needs to check your vitals, Mr Walker. And Mr. Wandell, I think we should let your husband sleep."

Scotty lifted his head. "Y-yes…of course…I n-need to meet my m-mother in law anyways," Scotty replied. Kevin squeezed his hand and Scotty turned to look at him.

"You what?"

"Kevin, I'm not going to not call your mom!" Scotty replied.

"God, now she's gonna be all worried and fuss over me!" Kevin complained.

"She's your mother. She's allowed to do that. You just do what the doctor says and go to sleep," Scotty scolded. He then stood up and kissed Kevin on the forehead. "I'll be back to check on you later, okay?"

Kevin sighed, and then nodded. "Fine."


	2. Chapter 2

Scotty was sitting in the waiting room with his head in his hands, when Nora arrived. "Scotty?" she said. Scotty looked up and started tearing when he saw Nora. "What happened?" she asked as she sat down. Scotty then told her about Kevin's fever, how he had thrown up blood and passed out in the bathroom. When he finished, Nora placed a hand on his. "Do the doctors know what's wrong?" Scotty nodded.

"His l-liver is f-failing," Scotty sobbed; Nora's face went gray.

"Failing? But why?"

"He's b-been drinking b-because…because…" Scotty was unable to finish what he was saying and let out a choking sob. Nora frowned and leaned over to give him a hug. Scotty clung to her tightly as Nora rubbed in circles around his back. She could feel her own tears coming but held them back so that she might be strong for Scotty and her son. After awhile, Nora pulled away and looked Scotty in the eyes.

"Do you think you can tell me what happened now?" Nora asked calmly.

"He's been drinking…a lot, for about two months. I didn't know about it until today," Scotty explained.

"Does this have any thing to do with the miscarriages?"

"Y-yes, I think s-so. Two months ago, he came home trashed…said it w-was to take the pain away…I made him p-promise to not get drunk like that again…God, Nora, why didn't I notice he was still drinking? I could have helped!"

"Scotty, this is not your fault! If I learned anything from when Justin was drinking and popping prescription drugs, people can hide addictions well if they want to," Nora said soothingly.

"That's what the d-doctors said," Scotty replied.

"Then believe that! Scotty…you and I both know that Kevin isn't the strongest person in the world…he never has been. So you can't believe for one second that any of this is your fault! Kevin deals with grief badly…though this time it's a little extreme. But, despite it all, Kevin will pull through. You'll see!"

"I hope so, Nora…because I love him s-so much! I can't lose him," Scotty replied, his lower lip quivering. Nora smiled gently and squeezed Scotty's hand.

"It will be okay. Now, why don't you go sit with Kevin for a bit while I go call his siblings? They will want to know what's going on," Nora suggested.

"Y-yeah…okay. Th-thanks Nora," Scotty replied. Then he got up and walked off towards Kevin's room. It was only after he left that Nora allowed the tears to fall.

Sarah was getting Paige and Parker ready for school when her cell rang. "Parker, don't touch your sister's food!" she scolded as she went to go retrieve the phone. Sarah groaned when she saw that it was her mother calling. She really didn't have time this morning to talk to her mom. Sarah allowed the call to go to voicemail and then went back to the kitchen to hurry her children along. She only made it two steps through the door before her cell buzzed. Sighing, Sarah went back to her phone and looked at the incoming text message. It was marked urgent. Sarah opened the text and read, _Sarah, plz call. Urgent. Something's happened._ _Mom_. Dread washed over Sarah and she immediately called her mom. Nora picked up after the second ring.

"Oh, thank God, Sarah! I'm sorry to bother you but this is really important."

"What's wrong, mom? Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes…I'm fine. It's Kevin," Nora replied. Sarah swallowed before answering.

"What about Kevin?" she asked.

"He was brought to the hospital this morning after passing out in the bathroom," Nora said.

"Oh my God! Well is he okay?" At that, Nora began to sniffle on the other end. "Mom, what is it? What's wrong? You're scaring me," Sarah said in a panic.

"Sarah…Kevin's liver is failing."

"Wh-what? Failing? How? Why?" Sarah asked.

"He's been drinking for months now…Sarah, Scotty said he threw up blood this morning and had a temperature of 103…Oh, Sarah, Scotty just came to get me. Kevin wants to see me. Do me a favor?"

"Yes, mom! Anything!" Sarah replied.

"Call Kitty, Justin and Tommy?" Nora requested.

"Of course!"

"Thank you. I will call you when I know more." Then the line went dead. Sarah closed her phone and sat down on a chair.

"Mom?" Paige said, walking into the living room. "What's wrong?" Sarah looked up at her daughter.

"Oh…nothing…are you finished with breakfast?" Sarah asked. Paige frowned but decided against pushing for an answer.

"Yeah…so is Parker."

"Okay…well go and get your shoes on. Your ride will be her in a couple minutes," Sarah said. Paige nodded and went back to the kitchen.

After Sarah got her kids off to school, she immediately called Kitty. "Sarah, I am kind of busy right now…what's up?" Kitty said as soon as she picked up.

"Kitty…it's serious…can you call Tommy?"

"Sure, Sarah…you want to tell me what's going on?" Kitty asked.

"Not yet…I only want to explain this once," Sarah replied.

"Well shouldn't somebody call Kevin and Justin then," Kitty asked.

"Kitty, just call Tommy."

"Okay okay!" Kitty sighed and then dialed Tommy's number.

"Hey Kitty, what's up?" he asked as soon as he answered.

"Sarah's got something important to tell us…hold on while I switch to three way calling." Kitty got back on the phone and said, "okay Sarah, Tommy's on."

"Hey Tommy," Sarah said.

"Hey, Sarah, what's going on?"

"Wait, what about Justin and…" Kitty began.

"Kitty…Justin's here. You and Tommy are on speaker."

"Hi Justin," Kitty and Tommy said in unison. Justin spoke for the first time since the phone call began.

"Hey guys."

"Everybody done saying hi? Great, now I've got something important…and serious to tell you," Sarah said.

"Sarah…you do realize that we're forgetting someone, right?" Kitty said.

"Kitty…it's about Kevin…I can't call him right now," Sarah said, exasperated.

"What about Kev?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, Sarah, don't leave us in the dark," Justin interjected.

"Everybody just stop! I'm getting to it!" Sarah said. "Now, I don't know a lot but mom called about half an hour ago…from the hospital."

"The hospital! Why? My God, Sarah you're scaring me," Kitty said.

"Kevin was taken to the hospital this morning by EMS after throwing up blood and passing out in the bathroom," Sarah explained.

"I need to sit down," Justin said.

"What?" Tommy and Kitty said, in disbelief.

"Yeah…his liver…it's failing," Sarah said.

"Failing? Why? Oh God, it's like déjà vu! It's not because he donated part of his liver to Elizabeth, is it?" Tommy asked.

"No… I don't think so…apparently Kevin's been drinking for a couple months…heavily," Sarah explained.

"Does Saul know yet?" Justin asked.

"I don't know…" Sarah replied. "God, I should probably call him just in case."

"Okay, well then we will let you get off the line. Sarah, should I go stay with mom and Scotty?" Kitty asked.

"Um…yeah, I'm sure Scotty's a mess right now and mom's probably trying to be brave. It might be a good idea if somebody was with her."

"I am going to try and get the first flight back to Pasadena," Tommy said.

"Yeah…and I'll go with Kitty, that okay?" Justin asked.

"Yes…yes, Justin that would be great. I just need to cancel my plans. Do you think you could come get me? My car is in the shop." Kitty replied.

"Okay, sure thing."

"All right, I am going to call Saul now. Bye guys," Sarah said.

"Bye," Kitty and Tommy said together. Sarah hung up the phone and turned to Justin. Tears welled up in her eyes. Justin frowned and enveloped his sister in a hug.

"Kevin will be okay," Justin assured her, not quite believing it him self.

"I hope you're right, Justin. You go and get Kitty while I call Saul."

"Okay, bye Sarah." Then Justin kissed her on the cheek and left. After the door shut, Sarah dialed her Uncle's number. After multiple rings, Sarah got the answering machine. _"He must be at Ojai,_" Sarah thought to herself. So she tried the office and still got no answer. Sarah sighed in frustration but then decided she would drive over to Ojai and let Saul know what was going on.

Saul was in the orchards talking to the head gardener when an intern came out to get him. "Mr. Holden? Sarah's here. She said she needs to speak with you. She said it's urgent."

"Thank you, John. I will head on over now," Saul replied. He turned to the gardener. "The orchard looks good, thanks Greg." Then Saul headed to the office.

When he arrived, Saul found Sarah waiting in his office. She was looking out the window and had a hand over her mouth. "Sarah? What's going on?" Saul said. Sarah turned around to look at her uncle, who was alarmed to see that she had tears in her eyes. "Sarah?" Saul said again. Sarah walked over and threw her arms around his neck. Alarmed, Saul awkwardly patted her back, which only served to make her more upset. He held Sarah as she cried for a few moments. Then he pulled away. "Sarah, what's going on?"

"Saul…Kevin's sick," Sarah sniffled.

"Sick? How sick?" Saul asked with concern.

"He was brought in this morning after passing out in the bathroom. Saul, Kevin's liver is failing."


End file.
